The present invention generally relates to carriers with handle flaps proximate handle openings, and it also generally relates to obstructing pricing bar codes, or the like, from view, with the bar codes being on articles carried by the carriers.
It is conventional for carriers such as cartons to include handle openings in their top panels so that a user can insert their fingers into the handle openings for convenient carrying. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,484,903, 6,578,736 and 6,715,639 disclose cartons with “racetrack” handles.
It is also conventional for cartons to contain articles, such as containers of food or beverages, so that they can be sold in relatively large multi-container packages (e.g., twelve packs, eighteen packs and twenty-four packs). It is further conventional for the same articles to be sold individually or in relatively small multi-container packages (e.g., six packs) that do not include cartons. Each article is normally marked with a pricing bar code to enable it to be optically scanned and automatically checked out at a retail outlet when sold individually or in a relatively small multi-container package. When a group of the articles is sold in a relatively large multi-container package and is therefore packaged in a conventional carton marked with a pricing bar code, an error can occur if the scanner sees the pricing code on one of the articles and uses that as the price for the package.
For the foregoing and other reasons, there is a need for carriers, such as cartons with handle flaps, that provide a new balance of properties.